A Light in the Dark
by obliviatethesilence
Summary: Ginny receives some unexpected help in the final battle.


_A/N: This isn't a ship that I usually support, but it was requested, so I did my best. Let me know what you think of this pairing! Maybe you can bring me over to the dark side!_

_-Ashley_

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><p>Curses were flying in every direction, most missing her by mere inches. She spun on the spot taking out two Death Eaters with a single "<em>Reducto<em>!"

From behind her she saw a flash of light and only had time to gasp before she noticed it had been blocked by Draco Malfoy who was now urging her to run as he finished off one of his former pals.

As she reached the entrance to the Great Hall, however, a cold voice filled the room around them. It was a message from Voldemort himself telling his Death Eaters to stand down and for Harry to find him in the forest. They were to dispose of their dead with dignity.

Ginny swayed for a moment, torn between mourning Fred with her family and finding Harry. Settling for the latter, convinced that she would hopefully have a very long lifetime to mourn her brother, she took off, streaking up what was left of the stairs in the entrance way, hoping to find Harry near the Room of Requirement where she had last seen him not even half an hour previously.

Heavy breathing behind her told her that she was being followed. At the top of the stairs she took a sharp right turn, stopping in her tracks and thrusting her wand into the throat of her approacher.

Malfoy put his hands in the air in surrender and instantly dropped his wand at her feet.

"What are you playing at?" she demanded, more out of confusion than anger.

"Your boyfriend has saved my skin twice tonight, and I thought I owed him this much now that he's as good as dead."

"What?" Ginny sounded both shocked and exasperated as she pushed her wand deeper into his throat.

"You heard You-Know-Who's message, and you know Harry."

Ginny noticed that he hadn't referred to them as 'The Dark Lord' or 'Potter'. "Yes, I know Harry," she said. "He knows we're going to keep fighting. He doesn't want everyone to have died for nothing—doesn't want Fred to have died for nothing."

Malfoy relaxed as she lowered her wand. "I wouldn't be so sure," he said quietly, though it wasn't anything remotely like a threat. She turned to leave him while she continued her search for Harry, but Draco grabbed her by the elbow, pulling her back. "He won't be in here. He'll be out there," he said, gesturing out the window. "Playing the hero, no doubt."

"Why are _you_ in here?"

Draco bit his lip in a frustrated way and chocked back an insult. "I've just—I've realized that the only way to live happily is for your side to win. Well, _our side_ now I guess. There's more to life than power." Ginny nodded, accepting his response as genuine.

"Took you long enough to realize that," she spat out, tossing his wand back to him.

They stood there awkwardly staring at each other, not sure whether they truly felt like allies or not, when Ginny realized how much time they'd wasted running around and playing little games.

Although it had felt like mere minutes since the high, cold voice had flooded her ears, Ginny knew that Harry's hour was sure to be almost up already. She pointed this out, and they turned together to walk back to the Great Hall.

As they passed by another open window, however, Ginny caught sight of the Forbidden Forest out of the corner of her eye, and the looming Dark Mark over it. The Dark Mark only meant one thing these days, and there was only one person who You-Know-Who would want dead in the forest.

"NO!" she wailed, blinded by hot tears as she staggered to the window. Draco wrapped his arms around her from behind, bracing himself against her body weight as she tried to lunge herself at the open window. "HARRY! NO,_ HARRY_!"

She continued to fight against him, pulling with every ounce of strength to drag herself to the window.

"He's gone, Ginny. He's gone…" Draco muttered in an attempt to be soothing. He hated the words as much as she did. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he had been sure that Harry was their only hope.

Ginny sobbed, letting herself hang limply from his arms. He choked up his grip on her ragdoll-like form enough to spin her around to face him, giving her more to lean against. "It's not over yet," he muttered against his own beliefs.

"We'll avenge him, Ginny, you and I."

Ginny looked into the eyes of Draco Malfoy and saw a boy she'd known forever, yet one she'd never truly met. Her tears slowly began to subside and she grabbed Draco's hand firmly.

"Together," she confirmed.


End file.
